A problem with adjustable chairs, especially adjustable chairs that are powered and operable by an occupant thereof, such as an invalid, is that when the chair has been moved into e.g. a relatively high and inclined position in order to allow the occupant to stand, children and animals may thereafter become entrapped thereunder when the chair is returned to its normal and relatively low position. To help prevent this, fixed side walls are usually fitted to such chairs and in order to prevent access to the front and/or rear of the chair flexible screens such as bellows or stretched fabric have traditionally been used.
However, a disadvantage of such traditional protection lies in the fact that it is necessarily flexible and can therefore still allow entry of a child or an animal into the space between the chair and the chassis or frame onto which it is mounted, or the floor, as the case may be.